Body Proportions, Elves and Dwarves

We looked at body proportions and how you can measure them by heads. For example, the average male is around 7 and a half heads tall. Putting this into a fantasy context, we looked at two body types on opposite ends of the scale; elves and dwarves. We were asked to design an elf and a dwarf keeping in mind that elves are usually around 9 or 10 heads tall, whereas dwarves are normally around 4 heads short. 

Here are my initial sketches of the elf.

Elves are commonly portrayed with pale skin, living in forests from lands based on European countries. I wanted to explore what an elf might look like from a rainforest in a tropical island instead. The first sketch is slender but I wanted her body type to reflect that of someone from the Caribbean; wider hips, fuller lips and strong legs. 

Next I played around with some values and hues. 

I was ready to move forward but I realised that I had not made the elf at least 9 heads tall; she is about 7 heads tall. I decided to start with a new drawing of her rather than painting over the one I already had done. At the same time, I thought it would be a good idea to work on the dwarf this way too. I wanted them to look like they came from the same place, living amongst each other in the same city. So I came up with the dwarf's design as I went along, trying to make it compliment that of the elf.

I blocked in some silhouettes first and figured out the contrast and values, then I started to paint over this in greys, blacks and whites. 

On a new multiply layer I added the colours. 

Then I colourised the values layer using Image > Adjustments >Hue/Saturation and also changed the levels so that they were brighter. This allowed the colours to show through more.

Once I was happy with that, I started painting over it all in colour. This is what I ended up with.

I really enjoyed creating these characters, particularly the elf. I struggled at first with the proportions; I am used to drawing women around 6 heads tall. The ovals in the middle really helped, especially with the dwarf, which I found the harder one to do. The dwarf's waist should be a little bit lower.